Think of the Hebrew Bible as one big crossword puzzle. If you get it right, you solve the meaning of life.

September 11, 2007

13. "Tapuach" - An apple with a soul... (for Rosh Hashanah)

What is this schmaltzy Rosh Hashanah post doing in our Wisdom blog?? Honest, I have an excuse. Three in fact. Firstly, we were just talking about trees and their connection to the biblical idea of growing bones. Well, tapuach is a tree. In fact, it is used as the name of the apple tree and not only of its bulbous fruit. When the bride tells her lover “Beneath the tapuach I awakened you” (Songs 8:5), it was not out of fear of a Sir-Newton-like experience, but rather to enjoy the tree’s fragrant shade. Secondly, teachings of wisdom are likened to it: “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11). That is our goal..

Lastly, this blog will lead to the biblical SOUL, and the root word of tapuach is identical to the verb used to describe how God installed it in Adam! It is also close to the Hebrew word for flowers, perach. Why? Here we need another verse: “The day is kindled, and the shadows flee away” (Songs 2:17). The kindling verb, yapuach, holds the secret. In biblical thought, flowers are like plants set ablaze, bursting in colorful flames. The soul too, being an entity of Light, is something that God kindled inside of Adam (Alas, the Creator did not “breathe” any such thing into Adam’s “nostrils”…). Apples too share this imagery because of their bulbous nature. It’s as if someone warmed the young buds in rays of blessed light and schwoop, they swelled-up in hot, luscious, yellow and red!

Now, the only thing missing is the honey. Blessed be your year!

Ethan

P.S. For a full exposition on Genesis 2:7 see my essay “A Soul of Fire”. Next post after Yom Kippur.

Comments

I think that the expression, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11), ia also a reference to the secrets of the Torah, with the word "settings" being replaced with "masks". Thus the Torah appears to have a beautiful message (silver), but if you succeed in seeing behind the mask, it is really gold.